The Zhuang language (Saw cuengh in Zhuang) is mainly spoken in Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, in the southwest of China

is a branch of the Thai languages. The Zhuang people originally attended to agriculture. The language is a tonal language consisting of 6 tones in open syllables. This is the largest minority language in China with approximately 18 million speakers. Currently, Zhuang is probably one of the more well known minorities in China such that if you take a look at a renminbi 1 yuan note you will notice two Zhuang people on it. There are two distinct dialects of Zhuang, the northern Zhuang and the southern Zhuang of Guangxi. Up until 1956 Zhuang never had a written language of its own and borrowed the Chinese characters then in 1956 they formed their own writing system using the English alphabet. The Zhuang are Chinas largest minority group and they mainly reside in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, west of Guangdong province, east of Yunnan and borders Vietnam. A great number of the Zhuang live in villages in the mountainous areas, specifically in the western two thirds of Guangxi. The Zhuang may also be found in most of Guangxis major cities, in each case making up to a third of the population while the remaining live in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan Provinces. The Zhuang are an offshoot of a Thai-related people group that over 2,000 years ago who existed over a large area of Southern China. The Zhuang probably emigrated from the south in Vietnam. Archaeological remains in Bai-lian Dong near Liu-zhou and Zhen-pi Yan near Guilin have turned up burial sites with burial styles common not to China but to Vietnam. These burial styles also suggest a relationship between the Zhuang and the Haobinhian (9000-5600 BC) and Bacsonian (8300-5900 BC) cultures of Vietnam. The Han Chinese, (not the dynasty) who ruled from 206 BC to 220 AD, expanded into the Zhuang area of Guangxi in the year 221 BC under Emperor Qin Shi Huang during the Qin dynasty; Emperor Qin was the first to unify the country. He had unified what was before known as China; however, he wanted to amalgamate the territories and subsequently conquer the peoples, southward. Though he had conquered these peoples, he did not entirely take over their pre-existing political forms and social institutions. By nature, this left the Zhuang with some autonomy. He brought in some, if only for a short time, some of the features of the central governing system, and he also established three provinces. Emperor Qin oversaw the building of the Li canal at Xing-an, which linked the southern and central river systems. The Qin dynasty did not last long after the death of Qin Shi Huang. The reason for this was that he made such drastic reforms in China that the rest of the country could not catch up with the rulers tight-fisted demands. Eventually the Han dynasty took over. During the period of upheaval in the Qin Dynasty, a Han Chinese, Zhao Tuo, declared himself Martial King of the Southern Yue. The region he controlled included the Zhuang areas. It was not until 111 BC that the area under his control was again conquered by the Han Dynasty. The Zhuang, over the years, have been involved in battles with approaching foreigners. In the 1070s, they fought against a people known as the Annamese. Then, in the middle of the 16th century, they fought against Japanese pirates who invaded their shores. Later, in the 1800s, they formed the Black Banner Army along with the Han Chinese and defeated the intruding French near Hanoi in both 1873 and 1882. Again, in 1885, they fought against the French and won a victory that proved crucial at Zhennanguan, a pass on the Sino-Vietnamese border. The Zhuang also joined in the revolutions that began at the beginning of the 20th century. First, they joined with Sun Yatsen in his revolutionary organization, Tong Meng Hui. Later, in 1925, a communist organization was established in the Zhuang area. Whether or not they participated in the revolution is not clear. Customs Singing is a favorite activity of the Zhuang people. Singing contests are a part of every festival. There are old songs, which are an important part of the Zhuang oral tradition; there are also new songs, invented on the moment. Much of the point of Zhuang singing contests are to show ones quickness in composing verses. One person will sing out a greeting or question; the one sung to must frame a response and sing back without delay. Urban Zhuang are often almost indistinguishable from Chinese. They have intermarried with the Chinese and over several generations have adopted the Chinese language and customs. This is not to say that they have lost all Zhuang identity, for the Chinese in Nanning and other cities of Guangxi have adopted some Zhuang customs as well. Both Zhuang and Chinese celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth lunar month. For the holidays major event, teams of twenty men sit in pairs in long canoe-like boats and have competitions. Each boat is carved in the shape of a dragons head and scaly designs are painted along the sides.

Language One way the Zhuang hold fast to their ethnic identity is through the preservation of their language. The Zhuang language remained unwritten until the 1950s when an alphabet based on the Roman alphabet was developed. Now, some Zhuang primary school children in Guangxi are receiving a bilingual education learning both Zhuang and Chinese. The Zhuang language has two major dialects: Northern Zhuang and Southern Zhuang, and descends from the Thai language family. (Even though their languages are part of the same family, the Thai and the Zhuang cannot understand each another.) A 65% lexical similarity exists between Northern and Southern Zhuang; sources indicate that the two languages are similar in grammatical structure and vocabulary. Ten million people, including all subdialect speakers, speak Northern Zhuang; four million, including all sub-dialect speakers, speak Southern Zhuang. Some sources report that the Zhuang language has over 50 dialects, most Zhuang also speak Cantonese and Mandarin today. Rural Zhuang, more than urban Zhuang, still live their traditional way of life and their traditional religion, animism. They believe in many spirits, often malicious, who control the events of their lives and must be calmed down. When a person falls ill, a spirit medium will be called in to perform elaborate ceremonies at the sick persons bedside. Incense will be burned and food offered to the spirits. The medium may go into a trance hoping to discover what spirit is causing the illness. She may force and threaten the spirits to induce them to leave and throw a kind of dice to determine when the sick one will be cured.

Zhuang language: Spelling

The present day Zhuang language is written in the roman alphabet. The letters and the symbols, which is used for the spelling of written Zhuang are the same as that of the English language. When Zhuang is used on a computer, special fonts are not needed. In 26 characters of alphabet, 6 are used for vowel characters, 15 are used for consonant characters. 4 are used for tone marks. The last 1 is used both for a consonant character and a tone mark.

6 vowel characters : a e i o u w 15 consonant characters : b c d f g k l m n p r s t v y 4 tone marks : j q x z The letter which combines one consonant character and a tone mark : h

The the tone mark will be explained later

These symbols are generally used in the same way as English. . ? ! ; : - () But the following three are particular to Zhuang:

1. The use of and . This is common with Chinese. The symbol , is used when it divides phrases, and the symbol is used when it enumerates words.

2. The use of . When there is a syllable that begins with a vowel in the word that consists of more than one syllable. seng + eiq sengeiq (To distinguish sen + geiq sengeiq )

3. When writing a book or a song name, it is written in capital letters.

The present day Zhuang language is written in the roman alphabet. Before the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China, Zhuang people had their own writing system. It was called Fang-gui-Zhuang-zi. Similar to the Vietnamese Chunomcharacters made from Chinese characters. Some people say that Chunom was made with reference to Fang-gui-Zhuang-zi as both resemble each other. The letter system, which was derived from Chinese characters: Hiragana, Katakana, Kitay, Xixia, Nuzhen, and Chunom are all well known. However, Fanggui-Zhuang-zi is older than any of those characters. It seems that Zhuang existed already in the 8th century (the Tang dynasty in China), so it is much older than Japanese Hiragana and Katakana. The Zhuang people wrote literary works such as Liu San Jie , Liang-shan-po and Zhu-ying-tai over 1,000 years, using this letter system. However, Fang-gui-Zhuang-zi was elliminated in 1957 because the spelling was very complicated and the acquisition was too difficult.

Part 2 Pronounciation of vowels (1)

Of the 108 vowels in Zhuang, there are 6 short vowels and 102 diphthongs. You may think that there are so many but in fact the diphthongs are all composed of short vowels. Therefore, once you remember the basic pronunciation for the short vowels they do not seem all that difficult at all.

The 6 short vowels:

a pronounced [a] as in the English /apple/

ae pronounced as a short [a], shorter than the above [a]

e pronounced as a long [e] as in the English /e/ in /egg/

i pronounced as a long [ee] as in the English /eagle/

o pronounced as a long [o] by rounding the lips as in the English /opera/

oe pronounced as a short [o], shorter than the above [o]

u pronounced as a a long [u] by rounding the lips as in the English [oo] in /food/

w pronounced as a long [u] but by relaxing the lips, as in the English /hood/

108 Diphthongs:

12 open syllable diphthongs:

ai, ae, ei, oi, ui, wi, au, aeu, eu, iu, ou, aw

30 voiced (nasal) diphthongs:

am, aem, em, iem, im, om, oem, uem, um, an, aen, en, ien, in, on, oen, uen, un, wen, wn, ang, aeng, eng, ieng, ing, ong, oeng, ueng, ung, wng

30 glottal stops (high) diphthongs:

ap, aep, ep, iep, ip, op, oep, uep, up, at, aet, et, iet, it, ot, oet, uet, ut, wet, wt, ak, aek, ek, iek, ik, ok, oek, uek, uk, wk

30 glottal stops (low) diphthongs:

ab, aeb, eb, ieb, ib, ob, oeb, ueb, ub, ad, aed, ed, ied, id, od, oed, ued, ud, wed, wd, ag, aeg, eg, ieg, ig, og, oeg, ueg, ug, wg

I will clearly explain how to pronounce the diphthongs later.

Part 3 Pronunciation of vowels (2)

Zhuang vowels are divided into vowels that are pronounced long and vowels that are pronounced short. Just like in other languages pronunciation of vowels either long or short will end up being different words with entirely different meanings. Therefore, it is necessary to get the pronunciations correct.

How to pronunciation open syllable diphthongs:

ai drawn out pronunciation as in the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of [ai]. In English /eye/ ae pronounced short, as in the English /I/ ei pronounced short, as in the Mandarin Chinese [ei] and as in the English /eh/

oi pronounced long, as in the English /oy/ in boy ui pronounced long dont forget to protrude the lips. Resembles the English /we/ wi pronounced long. Different from the above /ui/ as the lips are not protruded when pronounced. au pronounced long. Similar to the Mandarin Chinese [ao]. In English, /ou/ in ouch but drawn out. aeu pronounced short, as in the English /ou/ in out. eu pronounced long, (at the moment I cant think of an English equivalent). iu pronounced long, as in the Mandarin Chinese [iao], as in English abbreviation for European Union: E.U. with the E drawn out. ou pronounced short, as in the Mandarin Chinese [ou], as in the English /owe/ aw pronounced short, different from the above mentioned /aeu/ such that the lips are not protruded.

How to pronounciate voiced (nasal) diphthongs:

am pronounced long, /a-m/. The lips should be kept closed at the end of the syllable. This one and the following should not be pronounced /a:mu/ aem pronounced short, /am/ em pronounced long, /e-m/ iem pronounced long, /i-m/. Be sure not to get this one mistaken for /iem/ or /im/ im pronounced short, /im/ om pronounced long, /o-m/ oem pronounced short, /om/ uem pronounced long, /u-m/ the /u/ is like the English /oo/ as in the word boot. Be careful not to get this one confused with /uem/ and /um/ the /u/ here is pronounced like the English /oo/ in boot. um pronounced short, /um/

an pronounced long, /a-n/ The tip of your tongue should touch the top of your mouth behind the teeth at the end of this syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:nu/ (including the ones below). Similar to the Mandarin Chinese [an] aen pronounced short, /an/, as in the [en] in Mandarin Chinese. en pronounced long, /e-n/ as in the [ian] in Mandarin Chinese. ien pronounced long, /i-n/ as in the [in] in Mandarin Chinese. in pronounced short, /in/ on pronounced long, /o-n/ as in the [uan] in Mandarin Chinese. oen pronounced short, /on/ uen pronounced long, /u-n/. Dont forget to protrude the lips. un pronounced short, /un/ wen pronounced long, /u-n/, do not protrude the lips. Like the [uen] in Mandarin Chinese. wn pronounced short, /un/ as in the [en] in Mandarin Chinese. ang pronounced long, /a-ng/. (velar) Closing the soft palate at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:ngu/, including those below. Similar to the [ang] in Mandarin Chinese. aeng pronounced short, /ang/ eng pronouced long, /e-ng/ ieng pronounced long, /i-ng/, as in the [iang] in Mandarin Chinese. ing pronounced short, /ing/, as in the [ing] in Mandarin Chinese. ong pronounced long, /o-ng/ oeng pronounced short, /ong/ ueng pronounced long, /u-ng/ ung pronounced short, /ung/ as in the [ong] in Mandarin Chinese. wng pronounced short, /ung/. As in the [eng] in Madarin Chinese.

It is really hard to write the /u/ sound here in writing so if anyone who speaks Mandarin Chinese can let me know who to write an equivalent please let me know.

Part 4: Vowel pronounciation (3)

Glottal diphthongs in the Zhuang language are distinguished by a high and low. Literary, the difference is just the raising and lowering of the voice, the method of pronounciation is exactly the same. How to pronounciate the glottal diphthong (high): ap pronounced long, /a-p/ the lips remain closed at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:pu/ including the ones that follow. aep pronounced short, /ap/ ep pronounced long, /e-p/ iep pronounced long, /i-p/, the /i/ is pronounced /ee/ as in the English keep ip pronounced short, /ip/ op pronounced long, /o-p/ as in the English /o/ in oh uep pronounced long, /u-p/ as in the English /oo/ in boot up pronounced short, /up/ the /u/ is pronounced as in the English /oo/ in boot at pronounced long, /a-t/ the tip of the tongue the upper part of the mouth behind the teeth at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:to/ including the ones that follow. aet pronounced short, /at/ et pronounced long, /e-t/ iet pronounced /i-t/ as in the English eat it pronounced short, /it/ ot pronounced long, /o-t/ oet pronounced short, /ot/ the /o/ is pronounced as in the /o/ in hot uet pronounced long, /u-t/, protrude the lips. ut pronounced short, /ut/ wet pronounced long, /u-t/ Do not protrude the lips. The /u/ is like the English /oo/ in boot. wt pronounced short, /ut/ ak pronounced long, /a-k/ (velar consonant) Soft palate remains closed at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:ku/ including the ones that follow. aek pronounced short, /ak/ ek pronounced long, /e-k/ iek pronounced long, /i-k/ the /i/ is like the /ee/ in the English keep ik pronounced short, /ik/ ok pronounced long, /o-k/ the /o/ is like the /o/ in the English hot oek pronounced short, /ok/ uek pronounced long, /u-k/ protrude the lips. The /u/ is like the English /oo/ in boot. wk pronounced short, /uk/ do not protrude the lips. How to pronounciate the glottal diphthong (low): ab pronounced long, /a:p/ aeb pronounced short, /ap/ eb pronounced long, /e:p/ ieb pronounced long, /i:p/ The /i/ is like the English /ee/ in keep

ib pronounced short, /ip/ ob pronounced long, /o:p/ The /o/ is like the English /o/ in hot ueb pronounced long, /u:p/ The /u/ is like the English /oo/ in boot ub pronounced short, /up/ ad pronounced long, /a:t/ (velar consonant) Soft palate remains closed at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:to/ including the ones that follow. aed pronounced short, /at/ ed pronounced long, /e-t/ ied pronounced long, /i:t/ like the English eat id pronounced short, /it/ od pronounced long, /o:t/ oed pronounced short, /ot/ ud pronounced short, /ut/ wed pronounced long, /u:t/ do not protrude the lips. wd pronounced short, /ut/ ag pronounced long, /a:k/ (velar consonant) Soft palate remains closed at the end of the syllable. Not to be pronounced /a:ku/ including the ones that follow. aeg pronounced short, /ak/ eg pronounced long, /e:k/ ieg pronounced long, /i:k/ ig pronounced short, /ik/ og pronounced long, /o:k/ oeg pronounced short, /ok/ ueg pronounced long, /u:k/ protrude the lips. ug pronounced short, /uk/ wg pronounced short, /uk/ do not protrude the lips. If there is a [p], [t] or [k] at the end part, the sound should be high and if there is a [b], [d] or [g] at the end the sound will be low. Glottal stops are the same as one of the four tones in Classical Mandarin Chinese (ru sheng ). If you have studied Cantonese, the Fukien dialect or Hakka then you may already have learned this. Besides Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai also have this pronounciation. You need to be able to hear the [p], [t], [k] at the end of the syllable. Something that just needs to be learned by repetition and listening. Part 5: Pronounciation of consonants Zhuang has 22 consonants. b - Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [b], it is not a voiced consonant. mb - /mb/ the sound has a slight burst of air when pronounced. m - /m/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [m] f - /f/ Same as the English [f], Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [f] v - /v/ Same as the English [v], Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [v]

d - /d/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [d] nd - /nd/ the sound has a slight burst of air when pronounced. n - /n/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [n] s - /s/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [s] and [c] l - /l/ Same as the English [l] , Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [l] g - /g/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [g] gv - A double consonant. Pronounced as /kv/ ng - A nasal sound pronounced as /ng/ h - /h/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [h] r - Similar to the French [r], Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [l] c - /sha/ Pronounced with an opening between the upper and lower teeth, closer to /hya/ rather than /sha/ Corresponds to the the Mandarin Chinese [x] y - Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese [r] ny - /nya/ ngv - A double consonant. Pronounced as /ngv/ by - /pya/ gy - /kya/ Corresponds to the Mandarin Chinese /j/ my - /mya/ Zhuang does not distinguish between sounds that have a slight burst of air and those that do not as like Mandarin. So it should be ok to show the consonants b,d,g,gv,by,gy as p,t,k,kv,py,ky. This places the priority on the corresponding Mandarin. Part 6: Tones (1) Zhuang like Mandarin is called a monosyllabic tonal language. Each syllable has a fixed high/low, rising/lowering tone to it. It is similar to the difference between meanings of "HA shi" and "ha SHI". Even in Zhuang the difference in words is depended on a higher voice, so within one syllable the voice can be high and low. Those who have learned Mandarin should have learned the four tones. Zhuang has six tones. Tone number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tone value 24 31 55 42 35 33 Tonal mark n/a z j x q h The "tone values" express the tone of the voice by five levels of numbers. The larger the number the higher the voice. When it reaches "35", means that the rising intonation is pronounced from about the mid-high level to the highest level. The first and fifth tone, second and fourth tone resemble one another; therefore, it is often difficult to clearly

pronounciate the tone values without a lot of practice. It may be possible to distinguish if the first tone is pronounced from the lowest level to the raising intonation and the fourth tone is pronounced from the highest level to a decreasing intonation. When the "tonal mark" is mentioned in Zhuang, the mark is there to indicate whether the various syllables have what tones. For example, the first tone is expressed by the syllable [na] by itself. The second tone is [naz], the third tone [naj], the fourth tone [nax], the fifth tone [naq], and the sixth tone [nah]. Therefore, we are able to specify the meaning of words first by the three Zhuang syllables "Consonant + Vowel + Tonal mark". Incidentally, "na" is "thick", "naz" is "rice field", "naj" is "face", "nax" is "aunt on the mother's side", "naq" is "arrow", and "nah" is "meat". The same pronounciation /na/ with different intonations have very much different meanings. Part 7: Tones (2) Glottal tones The "tonal mark" as introduced in the last part does not use glottal syllables. It is because as explained in part 4, in the case of glottal stops, the letter that is at the end of the syllable already indicates the tone of the voice. The tone of a glottal syllable pronounced high is different whether it is pronounced long or short. high last letter of the syllable: p,t,k tone value: 55 long high p,t,k 35 short low b,d,k 33

Even if you are not definately aware of what places in the 5 tones, you should be able to distiguish the pronounciation such that if the letter at the end of the syllable is [p,t,k], the tone will be high; if it ends in [b,d,g] then the tone will be low. This explains the system of pronounciation for the Zhuang language. The following are words that you should be able to pronounce. 1. Cunghvaz Yinzminz Gunghozgoz (People's Republic of China) 2. baengzyoux (friend) 3. lauxsae (teacher) 4. Baekging (Beijing) 5. Gvangjsih (Guangxi) 6. hagseng (Student) 7. bauqceij (newspaper) Those who have studied languages that use kanji (Chinese characters), will notice that the system of Zhuang pronounciation is very similar to other kanji dialects. The main reasons for this is that the Zhuang culture has borrowed kanji and words from the Han. Besides this southern Chinese minority languages such as Zhuang have been influenced by Mandarin dialects. The Han have never inhabited the southern Chinese areas and have been inhabited by

the minorities that speak languages similar to todays Vietnamese and Thai have been called by the general term bai yue (or bai yue). From the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and Warring States (475-221 BC) periods the Han who began to advance into southern China mixed with the Baiyue and and the development of a dialect that is different from that of the Yellow river area dialect. The present southern Mandarin dialect has a baiyue influence that remains in not only its pronounciation but also its grammer and vocabulary. I will touch on the similar points of the the Zhuang language and Cantonese (the Guangdong dialect) later. If we go futher into detail, the following chart, compares the tones of the Mandarin of the Sui (581-617) and Tang dynasties (618-907) called the "classical Chinese", Zhuang, Cantonese, Hakka (Meixian a county in the municipal region of Meizhou, in northeastern Guangdong province "standard Hakka"), southwest standard Mandarin (Chengdu) and standard Mandarin. Classical Chinese alone does not have tones, not that there were recordings from a hundred thousand years ago but the "types of tones" have been noted by the people of the time. It is presumed that "=flat" is as it states litterally is a flat sound, "=up" is a rising sound, "" is a declining sound, "" is the high tone, "" is the low tone in the "" which is the last letter of the syllable sound that is included with the [p,t,k]. Classical Chinese type of tone Zhuang Cantonese Hakka type of tone type of tone type of tone

southwest Mandarin type of tone Mandarin type of tone

Part 8: Syntax (1) Zhuang like Han are languages that have grammar that follow word order. There is no reflection of nouns nor verb use. However, there is an importance on syntax rather than grammar. The coordinate clause When the subject complements the subject precedes. Gou dwg Lij Vaz. I am Li Hua. Gou = I, dwg = am, Lij Vaz = Li Hua (person's name) The modifier comes after the non-modifier. Boh de lauxsae. His father is a teacher.

boh = father, de = his, lauxsae = teacher The declarative sentence 1. S + V Generally, the subject preceeds the predicate. Gou bae. I go. bae = to go However, there are many verbs that come before the subject. Miz vunz. There is a person. miz= to be (animate beings), vunz= person Hwnj rumz. The wind blows. hwnj=to blow, rumz=wind 2. S + V + O The clause with the subject, predicate and object is the same as English. "S + V + O" Gou gwn haeux. I eat rice. gwn=to eat, haeux=rice 3. S + V + O1 + O2 If there are two objects, the direct object and the indirect object, the word order is subject + predicate + indirect object + direct object. De hawj gou song bonj saw. He gives me 2 books. hawj=to give, song bonj=2 (books), saw=book The negative sentence "mbouj" is placed before the verb, modifier. Besides "mbouj", "wj, mij, aemj" can also be used. Gou mbouj dwj hagseng. I am not a student. hagseng=student Bya ndaw daemz mbouj ndei gwn. Fish in the pond is not delicious. bya=fish, ndaw=in, daemz=pond, ndei gwn=delicious (ndei=good, gwn=to eat) Gou mbouj miz ngaenz yungh. I don't have the money necessary. ngaenz=money, yungh=use, necessary The interrogative sentence 1. The interrogative is formed by placing one of the words "lwi, ha, ne, la, ba, luma" (including others) to the end of the sentence. This interrogative sentence can be answered with "yes/no". wx=yes, mbouj caengz=no Mwngz caeuq gou bae lwi? Will you go with me?

mwngz=you, caeuq=together, with De dwg boh mwngz lwi? Is he your father? De caemh rox sawcuengh ha? Does he understang Zhuang too? caemh=too, also; rox=to understand; sawcuengh=Zhuang language (saw=, cuengh=) 2. Interrogative sentences that use interrogative pronoun and interrogative adverb "bouxlawz=who; gijmaz=what; gizlawz/mwnqlawz=where; seizlawz/baenzlawz=when; geij/geijlai= how many, how much; baenzlawzyiengh= " etc. Sou vih maz doxdub ne? Why are you two fighting? sou=you (plural); vih maz=why (vih purpose, maz what); doxdub=to fight Bouxlawz daeuj? Who is comming? daeuj= to come Mwngz miz geij boux nuengx? How many brothers and sisters do you have? geij boux = (counter for people); nuengx = brothers and sisters 3. "roxnaeuz = alternative question that uses or Mwngz naengh ci ne roxnaeuz byaij loh? Will you take the car or will you walk? naengh = to take/ride (a car); ci = car; byaij = to walk; loh = road 4. Interrogatives that are made up of affirmative and negative sentences. It is equivalent to the Mandarin expressions(shi bu shi),(you mei you). De dwg mbouj dwg hagseng? Is he a student? Ngoenzneix nit mbouj nit? Is it cold today? ngoenzneix = today (ngoenz = day, neix = this); nit = cold Until now we have discussed Zhuang in comparision to Mandarin but Zhuang is systematically like Thai. However, many years have past since the Zhuang people and the Thai peoples could be differentiated. Furthermore, just like Zhuang has borrowed many words from Mandarin; Thai has borrowed many words from Cambodian and Sanscrit therefore, they are fairly distanced. Within China's Thai-related languages, the Zhuang language is much more closely classified to the Kradai and the Zhuang-Dong languages such as the languages as the Buyi () (Buyei), the Dong peoples (dong zu) their own name: Gaeml also referred to as Kam and the Sui people ( shuizu).

On another topic, it is said that Zhuang and Buyi languages are often associated with Zhuang/Thai languages that are included in the Thai language of Thailand not the Dong/Shui language groups. Anyway, pronunciation and grammar characteristics are similar so it is comparatively easier for someone who knows Thai to learn Zhuang. This is because someone who can understand Zhuang has the ability to master the minority languages of southwest China one after the other. Part 9: Syntax (2) Imperative sentence Tonal: "vei, nw, ho, bw, ha, balo, lubw, dwk" etc. is added to the end of the sentence to form the imperative. Mwngz vaiq di naeuz de nyi nw. Tell him immediately. (Tell him and make him listen) vaiq di = immediatelynaeuz = tell, announce nyi = listen "gaej" added to the beginning of a verb forms a negative imperative. Gaej gwn raen saw bw. Don't drink tap water. gwn = to drinkraen saw = tap water (raw water) Conjunctive Sentences Ordered conjunctive sentences. It uses conjunctions such as the adverb "sien = first < " and "gaenlaeng = after that/and then" and tells about the following passage of time. Daxboh sien cawj haeux, gaenlaeng caiq cawj byaek. My father first cooks the rice, and then makes supper. daxboh = father (familiar).cawj = boil, simmer, stew, braise. haeux = rice.caiq < byaek = cuisine, cooking, dish, food. Reverse conjunctive sentences. Use the conjunction "hoeng = but, however" and indicates a condition that is different from the preceding phrase. Gaxgonq daxboh gou siengj bae hag, hoeng mbouj miz ngaenz. My father wanted me to go and study at that time; however, he had no money. gaxgonq = siengj = < hag < Yienznaeuz bineix mbwn rengx, hoeng mbanj raeuz lij ndaej fungsou.

 Despite the drought this year, our village had a good harvest. yienznaeuz = bineix = bi = neix = mbwn rengx = mbanj = raeuz = lij = ndaej = fungsou = fung < sou < Selective conjunctive sentences. Uses the conjunction "roxnaeuz = or" (as previously mentioned in Part 8). Mwngz ok bae, roxnaeuz youq ranz ? Will you go out? or will you stay home? ok = youq = ranz = Conditional conjunctive sentences. The future phrase indicates the condition and is followed by the phrase that is the result. Mbouj mwngz bae, couh gou bae. If you don't go, I will go. couh = < Danghnaeuz raeuz mbouj roengzrengz hag, couh doeklaeng vunz lo. If we don't study hard, it will slow the others down. danghnaeuz = roengzrengz = doeklaeng = lo = Gou baenzlawz gangj, de cungj mbouj saenq. However way I say it, he doesn't believe it. baenzlawz = gangj = < cungj = saenq < Cause and Effect conjunctive sentences. The future phrase indicates the cause/origin and is followed by the phrase that is the result. "aenvih = why < " is added to the beginning of the phrase that indicates the cause and "sojyij = therefore, thus, hence, accordingliy < " is added to the beginning of the phrase that indicates the result. sojyij = < Aenvih ngoenzneix fwn doek, gou mbouj bae hag. = Ngoenzneix fwn doek, sojyij gou mbouj bae hag. It's raining today therefore, I will not goto school. fwn = doek =

 Gwn ngaiz gvaq lwi ? = There is no greeting that can be directly translated as "hello" in Zhuang. The expression that is the closest to the daily language is "Gwn ngaiz gvaq lwi ? = Have you had (eaten) rice? When you just have to say "hello", you could use the Mandarin "nihao". Part 10: Syntax (3) Complex sentences Complex sentences are sentences that include more than one nominal, adjectival or adverbial parts in one sentence as a subordinate clause. 1. Nominal: The sentence just becomes the subject and object. Doxdub mbouj ndei, bouxlawz mbouj rox? Who doesn't know that fignting is not good? rox = to know Gou rox mwngz vihmaz mbouj gamj gangj okdaeuj. I know why you don't dare to speak. gamj < ; okdaeuj = to come out, get out 2. Adjectival: Modifies a noun (phrase) and pronoun (phrase) in a sentence Boux vunz daj gwnz bya byaij roengz daeuj haenx, lumj daxboh siujfangh raixcaix. The one comming down from the top of the mountain looks like Xiaofang's father. daj = from; gwnz = up, top; bya = mountain; roengz = to come down, get off; haenx = there, over there; lumj = to look like, similar; siufangh = Xiaofang (person's name); raicaix = very Cijmiz mwngz, coh ndaej coengh gou. You are the only one who can help me. cimiz = only; coh = finally, at last; ndaej = to be able, can; coengh = to help 3. Adverbial: Modifies a verb and an adjective in a sentence. Gou byaij dwk ga naet lo. I walked until my feet were tired. dwk = (adverb related); ga = feet; naet = to be tired Causative

"hawj" is placed before the verb. If you are placing the cause on the object then it is placed after the causative verb and before the verb. Besides "hawj" there are also the expressions "heuh, cingj, ep, gouz, ce, baij, coi" including others. Hawj gou bae hag hai ci. Please let me learn to drive. hai = to drive De cingj mwngz gwn laeuj. He recommends the drink to me. cingj = ;laeuj = sake, alcohol, spirits Gou gouz daxboh coengh gou. I helped my father. gouz Passive "deng" is placed before the verb to indicate the passive. If it is placed in a phrase that forms the main action then place it before the verb and after the verb indicating the passive. Besides "deng" there is also the expression "ngaiz". Gou deng dub.I was beaten up.dub = to beat up/to strike Gou deng de dub.I was beaten up by him. Duz gaeq de deng duz ma haeb dai lo.That chicken was bitten and killed by a dog. duz =counter for animalsgaeq = chickende = thatma = doghaeb = to bite dai = to die Comparatives When "gvaq < " is placed after an adjective, it becomes a comparative expression. Gou sang gvaq de.I am taller than him. sang = tall/high De sij saw ndei gvaq mwngz.He writes better letters than you. sij = to write < saw = letter/character < There is also an expression that places "beij <" before the intended comparision. Gou beij de sang.I am taller than him. De beij mwngz sij saw ndei.He writes better letters than you. Commentary

For those of you who have studied Cantonese (Guangzhou dialect, Guangdong dialect), you may have noticed that the above Zhuang gramatical expression "" is exactly the same as Cantonese. In today's Han language (Mandarin and classical Han language) "" is used. Zhuang also uses the expression "" but this is the influence from modern day Mandarin. As I have mentioned in Part 7, Cantonese is a language that was formed form the influence of ancient Bai Yue ( ) so it is thought that "" was borrowed from Zhuang. It is recognized that influence from Zhuang in Cantonese came from pronounciation, grammer, and words. In regards to pronounciation, there are such things as the existance of a double consonant /kw/, conflict with long and short vowels, and a large number of tones. In regards to vocabulary, there are a lot of words that have similarities with Zhuang such as the adverb "" ( = very delicious) that emphasizes adjectives, "ngaam = just/exactly", "mau = crouch down", "yuk = to move", etc. Gramatically, besides the comparative expression mentioned earlier there are the Mandarin expressions " = to go first/to walk first" which becomes "" in Cantonese and "" in Mandarin and "" in Cantonese as well where the adverb comes after the verb and the adjective. The modifying word comes after the non modifying word, such as "" in Mandarin, becomes "" in Cantonese. Quantifiers (Units that count objects) follow the noun by itself without accompanying the numeral. By contrast, there are a lot of words from Cantonese that Zhuang has borrowed. The pronounciation of the majority of vocabulary of Han that is included in Zhuang is similar. This is thought to be due historically to the fact that the Zhuang people have incorporated the Han language and culture from the Han people of Guangdong province. After the formation of the new China, it seems to be that since Zhuang and Canonese both have Mandarin influences the distance between the two has become narrower. Part 11: Structure of Words (1) Nouns Nouns in the Zhuang language have a function to change into subject, object, complement and others including quantifiers. It does not have inflection of masculinity/feminity, status, number that Indian/European languages have. Nouns that indicate people: vunz = peopledaegnuengx = (younger) brotherlwgnyez = childlauxsae = teacher < canghvaz < Zhang Hua (person's name), etc. Nouns that indicate objects: vaiz = water buffulobya = fishroeg = birdci = carruz = boatfeihgih = airplane < feiz = firerumz = windbya = mountains a homonym of fish swhsiengj < , thought/ideadauhlei < , reason/sense

dauhdwz < , morals etc. Nouns that indicate time: bi = yearndwen = monthngoenz = dayseizneix = present/nowgyanghaet = morningngoenzcog = tomorrow seizcin = Springdoengbaez = old times/the past etc. Nouns that indicate place: Baekging < BeijingNamzningz < NanningGvangjsih < Guangxi gizgyae = far away etc. Nouns that indicate direction: gwnz = uplaj = downnaj = beforelaeng = afterdoeng < Eastsae < Westnamz < Southbaek < North swix = leftgvaz = rightndaw = centerrog = outside/outter etc. Pronouns Personal pronouns gou = I< dou = WeOnly the speaker/not including the listener)raeuz = WeIncluding the speaker/listener) mwngz = Yousou = You (plural)de = he/shegyoengqde = they gag = oneselfbouxwnq = another personcaezgya = everyone Interrogative pronouns Things that replace people and objects:bouxlawz = whogijmaz = what Things that replace places:gizlawz = wheremwnqlawz = where Things that replace time:seizlawz = whenbaenzlawz = when Things that replace numerals:geij = how many/how muchgeijlai = how long Demonstrative pronouns neix = thisde, haenx = that/that one over there gizneix = heregizde, gizhaenx = there/over there yaepneix = at this time, momentyaepde = at that time/at that time Numerals Zhuang numerals have two kinds, a characteristic sound (Original Zhuang numeral) and literary sound (Borrowed from Mandarin) The characteristic sound is like the Japanese system of counting and the literary sound is like thein Japanese, which was borrowed from Mandarin.

However, in practice the pronounciation of the numbers other than "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ..." are the same as the characteristic sound and the literary sound. It is often difficult to distinguish their use. Original sound literal sound English lingz lingz 0 ndeu it 1 song ngeih 2 sam sam 3 seiq seiq 4 haj ngux 5 roek loeg 6 caet caet 7 bet bet 8 gouj gouj 9 cib cib 10 bak bak 100 cien cien 1,000 fanh fanh 10,000 ik ik 100,000,000 "cib it = 11", "ngeih cib ngeih = 22" such that 10 comes before the next number is the basic way to count using literal sound. There is also the expression "bak ndeu", "cien ndeu" but this implies "one 100 = 100", "one 1000 = 1000". "bak it" is "110". "101" is "bak lingz it < ". The same usage applies to Han (Mandarin) language. "2000" is "song cien", "2001" becomes "song cien lingz it". As in Mandarin it is not "" it is "". There is no such expression as "cien lingz song". Ordinal numbers:The numeral is placed after "daih < ". 1 and 2 uses the literal sound while 5 and 6 uses the original sound. daih it = daih ngeih = daih haj = daih roek = When indicating multiples, "boix < " is placed after the numeral. haj boix = roek boix = When indicating fractions, "faenh cih < " is placed after the denominator/before the numerator. haj faenh cih it < bet faenh cih sam < When indicating the date and days of the week, 1 and 2 uses the literal sound while 5 and 6 uses the original sound. The days of the week are indicated just like Mandarin beginning with Monday and expressed with a number placed after "singh giz < ". Sunday is "singh giz ngoenz = ".

cib it nied = 11 roek hauh = hauh < singh giz haj = < singh giz roek = < However, only in the lunar calendar, the literary sound is used in 5 and 6. ndwen ngux = ndwen loeg = Quantifiers Quantifiers (also known as classifiers) indicate units of people and objects or actions and movement. When counting things be sure to attach a noun limiter/modifier after the numeral. When expressing objects figuratively, it is placed between the noun and the adjective. Quantifiers use specific words such as nouns and verbs but there are cases where nouns can change as they are. If using quantifiers, there are many cases where the numeral "" (1) is not expressed. Object Quantifiers. A unit to count people and objects. Things that indicate units of weights and measures: conq < ciengh < leix < faen < cik < maenz < liengx < gak < 1/10swng < moux < gaen < daeuj < Things that indicate units of an individual duz =unit to count animalsgo =unit to count plantsbouxdahdaeg =Unit to count people aen = gaiq < fag < to count things that can be grasped in the hand mbaw = gienh < diuz < count long thingsnaed = bonj < count booksetc. Things that indicate units of a group/aggregate: gyoengq = bang < ban < doiq < suenq < fouq < Things that nouns/verbs borrow: hab < doengj = daiz = ranz = cenj = rap = fung < Verb quantifiers. Unit that count movements and actions. baez = count frequencyyamq = din = bit < ngoenz = haemh = Part 12: Structure of Words (2) Verbs/Auxiliary verbs

There is no use for Zhuang verbs. The verb is not only used as a predicate, just like nouns they are also used as subject/object or noun limiter/modifier. However many verbs are used in the sentence is ok but it doesn't matter whether the the actions are only ordered. Several verbs are often used in a sentence; however, only the order of the movement does not matter. They can be used with auxiliary verbs when necessary and also used with verbs placed after (verbs of time and state) that indicate verb whereabouts and results to not indicate time a .... Zhuang auxiliary verbs can be used by themselves and their form do not change with regular verbs. Although regular verbs can be used as well as verbs that are placed after, second usuage of verbs can also have a function as auxiliary verbs. .Regular verbs Things that show action and movement. yawj = gwn = byaij = dingq = < hag = < mbin = Things that show a mental state. gyaez = haenz = lau = ngeix = muengh = yiem = Things that show existance, change and disappearance. miz = lix = youq = bienq = < maj = dai = law = Verbs that judge decide (equivalent to the english verb be) dwg = Auxiliary verbs (known as verbs that ask ability) nyienh = aeu = ndaej = wnggai = < Verbs placed after

hwnj = roengz = haeuj = ok = ma = bae = daeuj = dwk = < liux = < gvaq = < The tense of Zhuang, whether verbs placed after or emphatically (following) Bakdou miz vunz souj dwk.There is a person protecting the entrance. bakdou = souj = De sij liux bak cih saw.He wrote 100 characters. sij = < cih = De bae Baekging gvaq.He has been to Beijing. A part of the verb is used with together and shows "a period/short time". gangjgangj = byaijbyaij = yietbaeg yietbaeg = yietbaeg = Verbs combined with others and can show a series of results/directions. De daj ndaw ranz byaij ok daeuj.He walks out of the house. Ci hai gvaq bae lo.The car went too far. De buet daeuj naengh gwn haeux gaenlaeng daeq bae lo. He ran in sat down and ate and then went home. buet = naengh = daeq = Ronghndwen ok daeuj lo.The moon came out. ronghndwen = Adjectives be Zhuang adjectives modify the end of nouns and pronouns and also become the predicate just like verbs.

Since the english verb "be" is not necessary, adjectives can be treated with the verb together. nit = hwngq = soemj = diemz = < haemz = unq = ndong = maenh = ndei = rwix = coengmingz = < hung = iq = raez = dinj = nding = heu = sang = daemq = bingz = < naek = mbaeu = vaiq = < menh = < There are situations where when Zhuang adjectives are repeated they act to emphasize. sangsang = cingcing sujsuj = cingsuj = < Adjectives can be used to express condition and result of movement after the verb. Even in situation of denial, **************** De sij ndaej vaiq.He writes fast. De sij mbouj vaiq.He doesn't write fast. Part 13: Structure of Words (3) Adverbs Adverbs limit/modify verbs.adjectives and indicate degree, range, time, affimative, negative, or state. Adverbs of degree (adverbs of quantity) gig = < ceiq = < raixcaix = dangqmaz = engqgya = yied = < haemq = mizdi = Adverbs of range (adverbs of location) gungh = < cungj = itlwd < couh = < Adverbs of time lak = cij = gonq = cingq = < yaek = doq = ciemhciemh = < itloh = baenzciuh = caiq = < lij =

youh = < Affirmative adverbs itdingh < bietdingh = < gaengj = < danghyienz < daxraix = yaekaeu = Negative adverbs mbouj = mboujcaengz = gaej = Adverbs of state daegdaengj = sawqmwh = Tonal adverbs dauqdaej < gizsaed = < saeklaeuq = Preposition Prepositions are placed before nouns and indicate "status" daj = youq = daengz = yiengq = riengz = ginggvaq = < yungh = < aenvih = < vih = < doiq = < gvanhyih = < lawh = laeng = caeuq = hawj = deng = beij = < cawzbae = Riengz henz dah byaij.Walk along the river. henz = dah = Caeuq de gangj vah.Speak with him. vah < Cawz de, dou cungj hag.We all study except him. Conjunction The conjunction has the role to join 2 sentences or 2 nouns together. (The usage was explained in Part 9)

youhcaiq = < roxnaeuz = hoeng = couhcinj = aenvih = < danghnaeuz = sojyij = < yienznaeuz = ndaq youhcaiq dub.ndaq = Mwngz bae roxnaeuz mbouj bae cungj mboujmiz gijmaz. It doesn't matter whether or not you will go or not. Tonal Tonals are attached to the end of the phrase and indicate imperative, emphasis, solicitation, invitation, touching, question, intimacy, politeness, respect, passion, etc. Daxboh ma ranz lo.(My) father came home. lo = Mwngz caeuq gou bae lwi ?Will you go with me? lwi = Haeuj ranz gou bae ba.Let's go in our home. ba =